Potomac: 565 books

Osama bin LadenÆs words carry a great deal of weight in the West. When he speaks, or allegedly speaks, we listen. But what about the words of other key leaders in the Al-Qa'ida terrorist network? We can learn how to conduct the war on terrorism more successfully when we study their own manuals, written...

Wounds and disease were as devastating on the battlefields of the ancient world as they are today. In an age of bloody combat, how did physicians and medics cope with arrow injuries, spear and sword gashes, dysentery, and infection without the benefits of anesthesia or modern medical technology? In this...

The 2000 U.S. presidential election was not the first in American history that was exceptionally close or that produced highly disputed results. In 1801 Thomas Jefferson became president after an electoral gridlock, but only after Congress voted three dozen times to select the president. Charles Hughes...

Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee wore six stars on his helmet, three in front and three in back—an unusual affectation. He was a stickler for discipline and a legendary military figure whom servicemen and historians loved to hate. Yet Lee was an intensely religious person and an advocate of opportunity for...

Africa is a continent of growing strategic importance in the global war on terrorism. Over the past decade, it has seen a significant number of terrorist attacks and operations, both north and south of the Sahara. Many of these attacks have been led by, coordinated with, or purported to be in support...

It has long been held that humans need government to impose social order on a chaotic, dangerous world. How, then, did early humans survive on the Serengeti Plain, surrounded by faster, stronger, and bigger predators in a harsh and forbidding environment? Pirates, Prisoners, and Lepers examines an...

Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler served in two armies, playing a major role in the development of Confederate cavalry in the Civil War's western theater, and, more than thirty years afterwards, commanded troops in the Spanish-American War. After leaving the U.S. Army to join the Confederacy, Wheeler served...

Colonel Frank Wolford, the acclaimed Civil War colonel of the First Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry, is remembered today primarily for his unenviable reputation. Despite his stellar service record and widespread fame, Wolford ruined his reputation and his career over the question of emancipation and the...

The Lavi fighter program, the largest weapons-development effort ever undertaken by the State of Israel, envisioned a new generation of high-performance aircraft. In a controversial strategy, Israel Aircraft Industries intended to develop and manufacture the fighters in Israel with American financial...

This timely, well-organized, and practical guide for the warfighter offers the collaborative contributions of dedicated military and civilian experts. Each chapter examines specific demands of military life and service, such as nutrition and its role in physical and cognitive performance, including details...

The year 1944 bore witness to the fifth long year of World War II. Death rained from the skies of Germany, her cities were ablaze or in rubble, the extermination camps operated with cold-blooded efficiency, and the Eastern Fronts guns roared day and night. Hardly a German family had not lost a loved...

The National Guard is the compelling account, in words and pictures, of the nationÆs oldest military institution. From the defense of the Jamestown settlement in 1607 to peacekeeping missions in the Balkans and, most recently, to their participation in the war on terrorism, the citizen-soldiers of the...

Record numbers of Americans fear that our political process is brokenfor good reason. Our nation faces unprecedented challenges, yet our politicians spend most of their energy attacking one another. All the while, no one in public life has offered a practical way to neutralize the bitter partisanship...

In 1806, when retired sea captain and religious activist Christopher Prince (1751-1832) began to write his lifes story, he wanted simply to leave his family a record of his experiences. Today, his autobiography survives as one of the extremely rare participants accounts of seafaring during the American...